Today I wanted to do something different, I want to include some real witchy content to my blog for you to enjoy. Last Christmas I came across a fun Yule preparation video by The Witches Cookery, and I decided I would try to make the Yule bread she made in that video.
I wanted to do this last year before Yule, but I ran out of time, and honestly, I was not feeling as spirited as I am feeling now. I am doing so much better mentally than last year, and I have undergone a lot of changes this year. I am very proud of the progress I have made.
So without further ado, I would like to present the most wholesome Yule video out there, all credit going to the Witches' Cookery of course, for this fun Yule blog.
Yule preparations | Pagan Yule stories & history | Witch vlog
The History of Yule
Yule is traditionally celebrated between the 21st of December and the 6th of January. Yule is the celebration of fertility but also remembering the death. It is also the season of the hunt that comes after the harvest is done. It was also a time when the veil between the worlds of the living and the dead was thin. The dead will rise in only one form this time of year, as part of the Wild hunt which is led by the German god Wodan aka Odin.
Rituals during this time consisted of animal sacrifices to the gods to ensure fertility and good crops. The animals were prepared after the sacrifice into a Yule fest. A celebration in which gift-giving was also not uncommon. Except for the sacrificing part, it sounds a lot like the Christmas we celebrate today.
As Yule starts on the shortest day of the year, it was also celebrated as the rebirth of the sun. There are many rituals, tales associated with Yule, and the Wild Hunt might be the most interesting of them all.
Yule (Wagon) Bread Recipe
The ingredients:
200 ml milk (warm)
14g active dry yeast
100 g sugar
1 swig of vanilla extract
3 egg yolks
500 g flour
100 g butter (soft)
1 pinch of salt
3 TBSP Rum or Amaretto or Milk with cinnamon
1/2 lemon (juice and zest)
50 g raisins (optional)
Water & sugar to drizzle (add cinnamon for extra taste)
Please make sure the eggs and butter are both at room temperature.
Put the yeast, and sugar in a bowl.
Warm the milk and poor it into the bowl with the sugar and yeast. Then add the three egg yolks and let it sit for about 10 minutes until bubbles appear.
When they do, add the soft butter and flour to the mixture.
Stir and add three tablespoons of rum in the mixture. You could also use Amaretto if do not have rum at home. I used the Kraken Rum we have on our shelf.
Then add a pinch of salt, I have forgotten this step, and let me tell you, I could taste that it was missing, but if you have to lessen your salt intake, you can definitely make it without the salt, the bread will still taste delicious. But the salt would make it a bit richer in flavor. Then add the zest of half a lemon, as well as the juice.
You can first stir the dough with a fork or with a spatula until the flower is a bit more incorporated and the dough does not stick as much to your hands.
When it doesn't stick to your hands add the raisins. I think for my next batch I would amend the recipe a bit on this part, and increase the quantity to 100 g of raisins instead, me and my boyfriend would have liked some more raisins. You could also soak them in rum, to make them more flavourful. When you have incorporated the raisins, let the mixture rest for about an hour in a warm place.
When rested, divide the dough into four pieces. Roll one piece in a long string and roll the ends inwards. Then do the same for a second piece and put that over the first so you have four little spirals.
Put it in the oven (190 degrees Celsius) for about half an hour until it browns, in the meantime, prepare some water with sugar and cinnamon. When the Yule bread comes out of the oven drizzle some of the sugar water over your bread, then let it cool. Enjoy!
I had a lot of fun making these, and they are delicious! So, I will be making some more soon.
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